optical character recognitionhttp://www.maclife.com/taxonomy/term/15251/all
enMajor iCloud Change; iOS 8 Will Scan Your Credit Cardhttp://www.maclife.com/article/news/major_icloud_change_ios_8_will_scan_your_credit_card
<!--paging_filter--><p><img src="/files/u220903/os_x_yosemite_icloud_drive_620px.png" alt="OS X Yosemite iCloud Drive" width="620" height="300" /></p><p>OS X Yosemite and iOS 8 continue to be the gifts that keep on giving for developers, who are still making new discoveries as they wind down their first week of working with the latest operating systems.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.9to5mac.com/" target="_blank">9to5Mac</a> filed a pair of reports Thursday that reveal small ways in which Apple's forthcoming operating system releases will improve the lives of Mac and iOS device owners.<br /><br />First up is word that <a href="http://9to5mac.com/2014/06/05/icloud-drive-enables-non-mac-app-store-apps-to-use-icloud-document-storage/" target="_blank">iCloud Drive will be available to all applications</a> — even those that aren't sold from the Mac App Store. Previously, Apple limited iCloud access to MAS apps, a restriction that created headaches for developers who also offer their wares from their own websites.<br /><br />Beginning with OS X Yosemite, iCloud Drive will be available from any Mac app, allowing content to be accessed and stored in the cloud no matter where the user choses to purchase their software from.<br /><br />The second tidbit comes from the <a href="http://9to5mac.com/2014/06/05/safari-in-ios-8-uses-camera-to-scan-and-enter-credit-card-info/" target="_blank">iOS 8 version of Mobile Safari</a>, which now offers a futuristic way to pay for online purchases. Whenever Safari prompts the user to input credit card data, a "Scan Credit Card" option appears; tap it and card data can be added by simply taking a snapshot of the card face using the built-in camera.<br /><br />The optical character recognition used to perform this trick is apparently similar to how iOS 7 already uses to redeem recent iTunes gift cards with a box around the actual code, although admittedly, grabbing payment details from the credit or debit card itself feels a lot more futuristic.<br /><br />OS X Yosemite and iOS 8 will be available later this year as free updates.<br /><br /><em>Follow this article’s author, <a href="http://www.twitter.com/JRBTempe" target="_blank">J.R. Bookwalter on Twitter</a></em></p><p>&nbsp;</p>http://www.maclife.com/article/news/major_icloud_change_ios_8_will_scan_your_credit_card#commentsNewscredit cardsiCloud DriveiOS 8mac app storemobile paymentsMobile SafariOCRoptical character recognitionOS X YosemiteiPadiPhoneiPodMacFri, 06 Jun 2014 12:23:20 +0000J.R. Bookwalter20096 at http://www.maclife.comPixter Scanner OCR Reviewhttp://www.maclife.com/article/reviews/pixter_scanner_ocr_review
<!--paging_filter--><p>With each passing year, the need for a computer diminishes as enterprising developers contribute additional superpowers to iOS devices. One of the latest to arrive on the iPhone is optical character recognition (OCR), courtesy of Pixter Scanner. While there are plenty of solutions for turning an iPhone into a mobile scanner, few allow captured text to be converted to editable text – let alone translate it into 70 different languages. Pixter Scanner OCR does just that, recognizing typewritten (and in some cases, even handwritten) text in 32 languages. In our tests, OCR worked quickly with nearly 100 percent accuracy, even with a variety of different type styles.<br /><br />One thing you won’t get is text formatting: We attempted to OCR scan pages from a movie screenplay, and while the text itself was amazingly accurate, it was delivered smashed together in one continuous block with no paragraph or line breaks. To be fair, though, desktop-class OCR software also struggles with formatting. You will need a decent Internet connection (Wi-Fi or cellular) to perform OCR or translation, which somewhat limits its utility when traveling in a foreign country, but the app is otherwise quite useful for on-the-go translations.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><img src="/files/u325188/2013/04/screen_28.png" width="620" height="465" /></p><p>Pixter Scanner makes it a snap to share OCR scanned text to just about any app you’d like. PDF and Word export options are included, but they rely on third-party apps – you won’t be able to actually view these files in Pixter itself. The app keeps a log of already converted text, with the option to retain original snapshots with or without cropping. We did experience occasional lags with Pixter, most notably tapping to start OCR – a pause just long enough to make us think it had been ignored. More complex languages like Chinese or Japanese aren’t recognized, although supported sources can translate to both.<br /><br /><strong>The bottom line</strong>. With a decent Internet connection, Pixter Scanner OCR is great for grabbing bits of editable text with a variety of different uses, including communication with others in foreign languages.</p><fieldset class="fieldgroup group-the-bottom-line"><legend>Review Synopsis</legend><div class="field field-type-text field-field-product">
<div class="field-label"><p><strong>Product:</strong>&nbsp;<p></div>
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<!--paging_filter--><p><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pixter-scanner-ocr-by-quanticapps/id622615952?mt=8" target="_blank">Pixter Scanner OCR 1.0</a></p> </div>
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Quanticapps </div>
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<!--paging_filter--><p><a href="http://pixter.quanticapps.com" target="_blank">http://pixter.quanticapps.com</a></p> </div>
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$1.99 </div>
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<div class="field-label"><p><strong>Requirements:</strong>&nbsp;<p></div>
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<!--paging_filter--><p>iPhone or iPod touch running iOS 5.0 or later</p> </div>
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<div class="field-label"><p><strong>Positives:</strong>&nbsp;<p></div>
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<!--paging_filter--><p>Fast, accurate mobile optical character recognition. Built-in cropping. Wide range of translation and sharing options.</p> </div>
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<div class="field-label"><p><strong>Negatives:</strong>&nbsp;<p></div>
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<!--paging_filter--><p>OCR and translation requires Internet access. Recognition ignores page formatting. No adjustments for perspective or rotation. Exported PDF or Word files require supported app to view/edit. No native iPad support.</p> </div>
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http://www.maclife.com/article/reviews/pixter_scanner_ocr_review#commentsReviewsapp store reviewsAppLifeiPhone and iPod AppsiPod and iPhoneOCRoptical character recognitionPixter ScannerQuanticappsreviewsscannerSoftwaresoftwareTranslationMon, 15 Apr 2013 21:49:33 +0000J.R. Bookwalter16740 at http://www.maclife.com